XENA            XENA & SHADOW

Troy and I had a wonderful time meeting you.  The cats at your shelter don't realize how good they have got it under your care!

Xena was very good in the car.  She meowed for the first 15 min and then was
quiet for the rest of the way.  We stopped for the night in Windsor at a hotel with a big "no Pets" sign that we promptly ignored.  When we let her out of the carrier, she played with us and wanted lots of attention.  She would actually start meowing when we stopped petting her.  We thought that was very cute- until this dragged on to 3 AM.  Some time after that, she settled down and went to sleep.

We crossed the border with her with no problems!   No mention of the cat was
made.  We got home around 3 PM and we introduced Xena to Shadow, the dog.  We held onto Shadow's collar so that the meeting was on Xena's terms.  She looked scared of him at first as all the hair on her back stood straight up.  So we kept Shadow away from her but allowed her to go up to him when she pleased.
Some time later, Shadow walked by her and she actually swatted at his tail.  I thought she was starting to like him, but as the evening progressed, we realized this was not the case.

She started to have aggressive tendencies towards Shadow.  It started with a few swatts in the face (which we thought was cute because she did not have her claws out and it seemed playful at the time).  Then she started growling at him when he was not even near her.  She ran over to the dog, who was on the other side of the coffee table and attacked him on the neck. Shadow barked a few times and flung her off of his neck.  I could hardly believe that such a petite kitty would go after a 72 pound dog.  What was she thinking?  Anyway, she had to have a time-out in a cage for little while to let her know that aggressive behavior is not acceptable.

Since that time, she has tried to pick a few other fights, but we have been able to see them coming and stop her before she actually gets to him.  Eventually she will learn, but it may take a while!!

She loves attention and already has a favorite chair to sit on.  On occassion, she lays in my lap and purrs loudly.  At night, she likes to lay on top of Troy's chest and presents herself for a scratch on the cheeks.

I will keep you informed with Xena's progress.  Again, it was wonderful
meeting you.

Melissa & Troy
Cincinnati, Ohio

(N.B. Xena and Shadow have since become the best of friends.)